Pen Pals Bridge to Freedom
by Kira Akuma
Summary: It all started as a Pen Pal project. Yet with the discovery of a Long Lost Bloodline and the help of Tobi, the last of the Kageyoshi Clan finds freedom in the Elemental Nation
1. Chapter 1

"Alright Class!" A tall middle aged woman with honey colored hair and warm brown eyes said. Around her children of about seven years of age quieted down and looked up at her. Seeing that she had their attention the teacher said, "today we'll be starting to write to our Pen-pals! I'll be handing out the names and address of each pen-pal. You can write what ever you like. But you will be graded on how many letters you exchange with your pen-Pal!"

And with that the teacher handed out each card. She saved a special one for her little helper in the class. From what she heard _that_ child needed a friend just as much as her little student.

"Thank you Miss Honey," her little helper said when she got her card.

"Of course Kagura," the teacher said soothingly, "I hope you enjoy your pen-pal. And please use the name you like."

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

And with that the strings of fate changed. Where a meek little girl once would have grown up lonely and holding a desire for attention, a new fate wove its way around this child of prophesy and all the people she would hold connections with. A new fate seeped in history and mystery.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

"Dear Gaara,

Hello Gaara my name is Kageyoshi Kagura. I'm Seven years old, and I like to watch the moon and the stars. Do you have any hobbies?

Sincerely, Kaguyoshi Kagura"

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

"Alright trainees!" An old scared man called out. Around him children quieted down and stared intently at their teacher. "Today you will begin an intelligence gathering exercise. You will be exchanging letters with civilian children under the guise of a "Pen-Pal" exchange. The more information you extract from your exchange the better the grade. But you _can not_ let them know about your ninja training!

"They have even sent their first letters," he said while holding up a stack of letters. He then handed out letters to each of his students careful to give his most dangerous student a letter through his sister.

Said student was surprised to get a letter at all.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

"Dear Gaara,

Hello Gaara my name is Kageyoshi Kagura. I'm Seven years old, and I like to watch the moon and the stars. Do you have any hobbies?

Sincerely, Kaguyoshi Kagura"

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

 _Something_ stirred within him as he read the sender's name. _'Kageyoshi?'_ it wondered, plans already forming within its mind. The child on the other hand was honestly glad to have this assignment. It meant he could talk to _somebody_ that didn't fear being brutally murdered by his sand.

So with the first letter he wrote a response, hoping to keep writing for a _long_ time.

"Dear Kagura,

Hello, I am Gaara of the sands. I like growing plants and stargazing. You said you like watching the stars? Do you know the constellations? Or do you just like watching the sky?

-Gaara"

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

It wasn't even a week before Kagura received her response.

" _Dear Gaara,_

 _It's nice to meet you! You like the stars too? That's so cool! But what are constellations?_

 _I honestly like seeing the stars because of a video I watched. It was called "Fantasia" and it had the most amazing skies! They made me think of how everyone can see the same_ _ **amazing**_ _sky if they just look up._

 _And how it looks like a reflection of the sea almost. I've only gotten to see the sea once, but looking up always helps me remember how the sea looked during the day._

 _There's even a beautiful river of stars in the night sky._

 _What do you like about the sky? Have you ever seen the sea?_

 _Sincerely, Kageyoshi Kagura_

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

The teacher came into the room, a smirk on his lips. "Has anybody learned something about their Pen-Pal?" He asked.

There were muffles of children who liked games and TV shows or children who didn't do much more then introduce themselves. When they all settled down Gaara smirked and held his second letter tightly in his hands, "Kagura likes the sky and the ocean."

This made the whole class stare at him in surprise. _'His civilian wrote back?'_ they all wondered to some degree.

"She loves the ocean and sees it in the sky. And she sees a river in the sky at night," he continued.

The teacher was the most shocked though. _'Children aren't poetic. They don't normally appreciate the natural world,'_ he thought, worried for both Gaara and this Kagura.

Coming to a decision he said, "you will be having lessons in the T and I Division after school." Before leaving the room to find a specialist to teach him about psychology. Some self control lessons couldn't hurt either.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

That evening Gaara wrote his response.

 _Dear Kagura,_

 _I've never seen that much water. The most I've ever seen is the oasis in the middle of town. I live in a very large desert._

 _I like to watch clouds in the sky. It's amusing to trace the shapes of constellations in the sky. A constellations is the shape stars make in the sky. You can find books on them._

 _You want to know what I like about it? It's peaceful. Nobody to bother you and empty space to all your sides._

 _Sincerely Gaara_

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

Three days later, Kagura received her letter. She promptly wrote her response.

 _Dear Gaara,_

 _You like to be on your own? Do you have any friends?_

 _If you don't mind, could I be your friend?_

 _What is a desert like? I heard there's lots of sand and it's really hot in deserts. Do plants grow well there?_

 _Sincerely Kageyoshi Kagura_

And like the last two letters she sent it off in the mail. To her irritation though, her cousin Dudley forced her to write to _his_ Pen-Pal instead. Two of his four friends soon followed suit. So now she had to compose letters to Naruto Uzumaki, Deidara _(no last name)_ and Sakura Haruno.

" _Dear Naruto,_

 _I know I may not be your assigned Pen-Pal, but I hope you don't mind._

 _My name is Kageyoshi Kagura and I like Stargazing, watching Fireworks, and learning new things._

 _Sincerely Kageyoshi Kagura_

With that done she made a copy for each of her new Pen-pals.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

A year came and went. And through the entire year, she kept up almost all her Pen-Pals. The only one she couldn't keep up was Sakura, but that girl seemed rather creepy to her. _(She honestly had no idea how a girl could be so_ _ **obsessed**_ _with a boy!)_

Through the year she learned many things about her friends, from how mischievous Naruto was, to how much Deidara **loves** art, especially Explosive art. She liked learning about the desert and generally about the world outside of the Dursley household.

Yet like many things in Kagura's life, one of her letters didn't go where it was supposed to. It fell into the hands of a man far older than any of her Pen-pals. With the letters she received from two of her Pen-Pals the man came to return the wayward letter.

During lunch time, Kagura always eat the food Miss Honey brought for her. Normally she could decide what foods she wanted for lunch, so Kagura always asked for a bento box of Miss Honey's choosing. Today was the "Dango of the Month" day. And the scent of twenty odd Dango drew in somebody outside.

" _Hello!_ " An all too cheerful voice said from an open window. Both girls looked to see a swirly orange mask with only one eye hole and short fluffy black hair. After a few moments, he came into the classroom. Kagura couldn't help but feel that he was grinning the whole time. It _almost_ felt safe.

So she did the only thing she could think of. She held out a stick of Dango to the man, a smile on her lips. " _Would you like some Dango?_ " She asked in the language she had taken to so well. A feeling of _rightness_ filled her every time she used that foreign language.

"Dango? Dango!" He said, Kagura could almost see sparkles of delight around the man. He accepted the treat gratefully, a small bow to both women before turning away to eat it. Complimenting the cook as he ate.

After he finished eating he turned back around and said, " _thank you for the tasty food_!"

Miss Honey smiled and replied, " _I'm glad you liked it. Do you mind telling me what you're doing at my school?"_

The man tilted his head to the side before pulling out an envelope. _"Somebody dropped this, so I decided to give it back to who sent it! It's been a really fun trip too!"_

" _That's my letter!"_ Kagura exclaimed in shock, her name and Deidara's were printed on the envelope.

His head turned to the other side as he handed the letter over. After handing the letter over Kagura and the man _(Tobi as he called himself)_ chatted for the rest of lunch. By the end, Miss Honey asked Tobi to walk Kagura home in her place. _(Miss Honey normally would, but that night was a Parent Teacher conference.)_

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

Tobi didn't like what he saw. Here was what was _supposed_ to be a civilian. One of the many that ninja in training would exchange letters with. Yet she seemed too cautious…

She was especially cautious when she got home.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

" **GIRL!"** Vernon yelled furiously. **"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU COME BACK LATE!"** The loud sound made Kagura step back in fear, already knowing what would happen to her. Yet she knew she still had to enter.

Tobi could see the fear in his young companion. And to be honest, he didn't like it at all. So he pulled out a spare cloaking and covered his little companion in it while he pushed her behind his back.

The front door slammed open within moments of Tobi pushing Kagura back. **"Do you have any idea how long you made us wait!"** He yelled savagely, _**"and don't you dare think you can hide!"**_

"Good afternoon!~" Tobi said cheerfully, "can I talk to you for a bit?" He then looked down at Kagura and whispered, "go hide somewhere, I'll find you later." He then stepped up to the door.

Kagura nodded and took off towards the park. She slipped her arms into the cloak as she ran. At the park she disappeared into the surrounding woods. She could feel _something_ watching her as she ran. Once she was deep within the forest Kagura finally stopped running. The feeling far from gone.

She looked around, trying to find who ever was watching her. Soon an imposing form appeared behind her. It had long white robes and hair while it's skin was a grey purple blue color. It's face looked like an Oni, horns and all. It looked like its skin was merely stretched across a skeleton. A black strap went across its chest.

A top its head was a fox the size of a cat. It had orange fur with nine black tipped tails. It's crimson eyes were surrounded with black fur what stretched out to its long leporine ears.

The tall Oni seemed to grin as he crouched down… before glomping Kagura. _"Your such a Cute Kagura!"_ He exclaimed cheerfully, _"its been so long since I've seen one of you! I even brought gifts for my cute little grandniece!"_ He then let go and took the fox off his head and held it out to Kagura, _"its name is Kurama! There's only one other in the world like it!"_

Kagura couldn't help but stare at the tall form. _'Grandniece? So he's my great uncle?_ ' She then looked down at the fox in his hands. _'And a fox?'_ she wondered before taking a tentative step forward. She slowly reached her hands forward, hoping the fox was nice. Seeing it didn't snap at her or any other aggressive action, she took it from the tall being's hands.

The being then took off the thing strapped to its back off. Bringing it around, it was revealed to be a LARGE scroll. It's diameter alone was a foot while the paper was the same width. The rod of the scroll was only two inches diameter.

He pulled a second thinner scroll from a pocket. This one was only a couple inches wide, and it's rod was about half that.

" _you deserve it,"_ the being said before fading away. The last thing Kagura saw was his grin.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

Once the being was gone, Kagura looked back down at the fox. It's large crimson eyes met her own. "Guess your stuck with me," she whispered. She then gently set the fox on the ground and rubbed its ear. Before long she was rubbing his ears and stomach.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

After his _conversation_ with the two humanoid beasts, Tobi was happy to say the little girl would be living a **much** better life. So he went off to find Said girl. Her chakra was rather unique, so it was easy to find her. The chakra near her was disturbing though. It took mere minutes for him to find the little girl.

Yet there was something _off_ about the clearing she was in. Another chakra with her that was **far** stronger than the little girl and far denser. ' _Almost like a Tailed Beast,'_ he thought as he walked into the clearing.

He was nearly knocked over when a sudden immense Killing Intent washed over him. An orange fox glared up at him.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

When Kurama stopped purring and started glaring at _something,_ Kagura looked up at the disturbances. Noticing it was Tobi, she looked back to Kurama. "It's okay, he helped me,"she told the angry fox. And to the relief of Tobi, the Fox calmed down.

Tobi regained his cheery sparkling effect as he asked, "ready to go home?" This made the Killing Intent return and Kagura to back away; afraid to return. Tobi huffed before saying, "not back _there._ A new home! Where Naruto and Deidara are!" He remembered seeing another letter in her lap when he gave the other letter over. "I can take you with me!"

Kagura's eyes filled with tears, as she brought Kurama into her arms. "A new home?" She asked hesitantly.

"Where there's lots of friends and Fun things! It's really pretty there too!" Tobi replied cheerfully. Where the eye hole normally was, was an upside down capital U.

Hardly giving it a moments though, Kagura replied, "please! I want a new home!" Unnoticed by either, her eyes started to ripple before taking on a water like affect. The water within was a pale blue and rushed like the rapids of a river.

Tobi helped Kagura up, Kurama still in her arms. Before the two left Kagura picked up the two scrolls. The small one went into a large pocket of her oversized robe while the other was slung across her back.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

It took three days for the duo to reach the Hidden County. _(Days filled with Tobi teaching Kagura about Chakra and the Elemental Nations.)_ Half a day for the plane ride, another half for a boat ride to the boarder and two days to get over the mountains that made up one of the boarders.

It was on the third day of travel that Kagura got to see her first glimpse of the elemental Nations from the top of the mountain. That first glimpse was _breathtaking._ Sand stretched for Kilometers with tall trees at one edge of sight while rocky terrain was to her left. There was even blue on the horizon to her right.

"Hey Tobi?" She asked from her viewing point, "is that an ocean over there?" she pointed where the blue horizon was.

Tobi looked over and replied, "good eye! The Land of Rivers's is that way!"

And from there they descended.

After crossing the border, Tobi took Kagura to the Land of Rivers. And from there to the ocean in the land of Water. Her expression the whole way was _priceless._ The shear joy and wonder filled Tobi with feelings of Joy and sorrow. Joy to see such wonder and sorrow, knowing that pretty much everything was new to the girl who should have seen _so much more._

Every village along the way was friendly and scared the little girl. Kurama was on high alert the whole time trying to help her cope with so many new people.

Kagura much preferred to sleep in a tree to an inn room. Stopped wearing shoes not long after entering Suna; she wanted to feel every new thing. And to Tobi's surprise, not even the sands of Suna could get Kagura to wear anything on her feet. He was at least relieved to know Kagura healed rapidly. _(With the Red hair and healing factor, he suspected Kagura to be related to the Uzumaki clan.)_

After experiencing the islands of the Land of Water, Tobi had no idea what to do with Kagura. He was still an missing Nin and an Akatsuki too. Pain might appreciate a Clan member, but they were well known criminals with plenty of enemies.

And there was still the two scrolls. One looked to be a summoning contract, while the other looked like a massive storage scroll.

Finally Tobi decided to chance it and go back to base with Kagura in tow. If nothing else, Itachi would make for a good Big Brother and finally have a filter for his brother hen side… Maybe even give Konan something to be possessive over?

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

At the base, Tobi was happy to note that everyone was home. He helped Kagura fix her cloak before entering the tower. Like usual, Kagura was looking around with aww. The water of her blue eyes sparkled like a moving tide. Tobi could tell she wanted to look at the artwork on the walls and the puppet in the corner.

He paused mid step. "Hey Kagura! What do you think of that puppet in the corner?" He asked either a smirk hidden my his mask.

Kagura looked around until she found the puppet. She then looked up to her companion and asked, "isn't that like the really cool ones Sasori makes? The ones that are _really_ dangerous but pretty?" She then ran over to get a better look, a broad smile on her lips.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

As Kagura ran over, Sasori was wondering, _'why does_ Tobi _have kid with him?'_ he almost smiled as he watched the little girl examining him carefully. She took in every joint and seam as she looked over the masterfully crafted puppet.

"I wish I could do that Puppet Jutsu!" The little girl said just loud enough for Tobi to hear, not knowing the puppet she was looking at was alive, "it's a really pretty craft. Moving a puppet carefully with strings of Chakra. Its like dancing."

Tobi smiled behind his mask, "you shouldn't pretend to be dead Sasori! Kagura came all this way to see pretty things!"

And with that the puppet's head rose from its slacked position. A near unnoticeable smile came to its lips as it said, "I'm on guard duty."

Stars filled Kagura's eyes as she brought up her hands exitedly, "are you really Sasori? Tobi told me so mush about you! Do you really have a poisonous metal cord in your body? How many puppets do you have? Was it hard to make a puppet body for yourself? What kind of traps are in it?"

Both Tobi and Sasori looked down at the exited child surprised. Sasori looked up at Tobi questioningly but was brought back to Kagura's strange eyes. A pair of pools of water swimming with questions, a new ripple came into them for every question she asked.

Finally Sasori stood up after falling out of the spell of Kagura's eyes. "You need to tell Pain," he said before going off to the meeting room. He gently held Kagura's hand in his own as he answered questions.

Tobi soon followed, after he processed the sight before him. He eye smiled the whole way.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

Within the meeting room Konan was talking to Pein about their village. Things from education to trade agreements passed between them until the two noticed two, make that three, people at the door. All three wore Akatsuki, but they only recovered the two taller figures.

Pein glared as he said, _"there had better be a good explanation for this."_

Tobi looked down at his young self appointed charge and her pet fox before saying, "Tobi didn't like where Kagura was. Too many bad people." His third person speech only emphasized his distaste. "Akatsuki is keeping Kagura."

Pein then looked to Sasori, who promptly said, "I like her. She has good taste," while looking away.

Pein then looked to the little girl in question, who was hugging a cat sized nine tailed fox. Kagura clutched to the coats of Tobi and Sasori when she replied, "I really like Tobi. He saved me from human monsters. I don't want to go back, and villages have too many people… Tobi said Akatsuki is nice and has lots of different people. Like Pretty Sasori! And that it's really pretty here. He even showed me **LOTS** of things I've never seen before!"

A pained look endeared Tobi's eye as he looked away. There was really too much that was new to Kagura…

Konan walked up to the shy little girl soundlessly. She looked into Kagura's eyes and asked, "did they hurt you?"

Kurama growled as Kagura's grip tightened on the two coats in her hands. _"Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't like freaky stuff…"_ she whispered. Yet that tiny whisper echoed throughout the room.

" **Kagura stays** ," Tobi growled. Pein nodded to the possessive ninja and watched how Sasori placed a hand on Kagura's. The little girl rubbed the joints while she looked away from Konan.

"She sleeps in your apartment building," Pein said, plans for supporting the new member already in his mind.

"I'll inform the others," Konan said monotonously.

"Make sure she is treated well,"Sasori said before leaving with Kagura, the others in the room stared at the the space previously occupied in wonder.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

A couple of minutes after leaving Sasori came to the Apartment complex. He grabbed a set of keys for a room on the top floor for Kagura. It had a good view, which Sasori had a feeling Kagura would like. It had three rooms, a kitchen and a large living room. Each room had plenty of windows and was completely empty.

"Is there anything in that scroll?" He asked once they were in the apartment.

Kagura looked up curiously and asked, "what?"

Sasori pointed at the scroll on her back and asked again, "is there anything in there?"

Again Kagura looked up at him curiously, having no clue what the puppet master meant. Kurama looked up just as cluelessly.

Sasori slowly reached a hand out and pulled the scroll off Kagura slowly. He then spread it across the ground to take a close look at what it contains.

Across pages yellowed with time was a vast array of storage seals. Each seal took up half a foot of the scroll before moving onto the next. The further the scroll was unraveled the older the paper looked. Sasori was careful to only have three seals open when he motioned for Kagura to come over.

Once she was sitting next to him Sasori showed her how to open the seals with her chakra. The first eight seals revealed to hold eight different yet similar strange outfits with a different weapon each. Every single one had a white symbol with an open black fan taking up most of the space. Kagura kept the first outfit and weapon along with a rope from the set with a large hammer for Kurama while the rest was sealed back up for a latter time.

The next seal had nine different tapestries, each was black with vastly different scenes sewn into them. After that was another four seals with different tapestries ranging from demonic creatures to people who looked like they could be deities. The next two were more black tapestries, yet these had lotuses and dragons. They seemed more like they were meant to fill space on a wall then having something special sewn into them.

After that was a seal containing red hanging lanterns with red tassels at the bottom. Next was a seal filled with high quality floor mats.

They stopped at that point to give Kagura's Chakra a break.

"These seem more like clan possessions than anything else," Sasori pondered aloud.

"Clan Possessions?" Kagura asked.

"A clan is a family with special traits in their blood. They give all their valuables to their next of kin after death," Sasori replied simply. "If you are from a clan you should stay in a compound," he said before disappearing quickly.

A couple of minutes later Sasori came back with a tall white haired man and a shorter dark haired man.

Sasori picked up as many paper lanterns as he could while telling Kagura, "you are being relocated, get the scroll." The two other men grabbed the tapestries and floor mats while Kagura rolled the scroll back up. They left the building and walked for no more than five minutes to a tall set of walls. Within was a large front yard with a building set a ways back. Exposed Hallways wrapped around the left and right side of the yard leading to lots of smaller rooms. They had a roof, but no exterior wall.

The main building made an H shape with a thick line in the middle for the main building and another thick line across the top. Within was a large empty space with a fire pit _(about a yard by a yard big)_ in the middle. A tea kettle was hanging over the fire pit.

Through the back door was another large yard, this one with a nice pond to the right. Beyond that was the second large section of the house, this one split into three rooms. To the left was the small restroom, in the middle was a washing room with both a large tub and a shower and to the right was a large kitchen. Done exploring, Kagura opened the scroll back up while the three men set down what they were carrying. The taller of the two left mumbled about going out for a new sacrifice.

The remaining new person sat in a corner, content to just watch silently.

Finally ready, Kagura opened the next seal. This one revealed to have paper doors with blue and red flowers and white clouds on them. The next five seals led the same things.

The next two seals were **filled** with black and red Kimono . The right half of it was black while the other was red. These had several spots with the same symbol as the first eight clothes on them. The next seal hat the Obi for all the Kimono in it.

After that was _at least_ ten seals filled with simple, but old furniture like bed mats and bookshelves. _(More like Scroll shelves with how many scrolls was in the the next two seals.)_ there was even a full set of floor mats for around the fire pit.

After those seals was three seals full of paintings of what could only be her ancestors. Some looked rather strange with dragon horns and faces with intricate tattoos, but they were still humans.

They stopped at that point to start decorating. Kagura even used a large eyed pout to get the man in the corner to help.

They started with the main room. The paper doors were replaced with the blue and red set. The right set of doors was red while the right was blue. The walls were covered in the dragon and lotus tapestries. The man from the corner _(who introduced himself as Itachi while they were decorating)_ got candles while Sasori helped Kagura hang the lanterns. They supplied a surprising amount of light once they had candles within them.

The two sets of hallways at the front were turned into fully decorated rooms to live in. The rooms on the right had the tapestries of deities while those on the left had demons. Since there was five rooms on either side, each room had a different elemental theme.

With those done it was time for dinner. Tobi and Konan came in with some takeout they got on their way to the new compound. They were rather impressed with the speed that Sasori got supplies for an artful home until they revealed where everything came from.

They rolled up the scroll for the night once dinner was eaten. Sasori took Kagura to a room she had picked as her own. It was on the left side, and was in the back with the nine tapestries on its walls. As he tucked her in for the night Kagura asked, "will you stay here?"

The puppet master was mildly surprised to be asked such a question. ' _Who would want a murderous Missing Nin in their room while they sleep?_ ' He wondered too loudly.

Kagura curled around Kurama sleepily as she mumbled, "your nice. I hope I don't have to wake up to my cupboard again after such a nice dream…" she fell asleep as the last syllable fell from her lips.

Sasori looked down at the little girl with sorrow gust barely seen in his eyes. "I'll still be here," he mumbled before going to the next room over. A room Kagura claimed would be, "where I put all the amazing puppet I collect!" Something that filled Sasori with an emotion he couldn't figure out.

The next day Kagura awoke when the sun would have risen. The first thing she saw was Kurama's orange fur. She could feel the soft blankets enveloping her form and the fluffy mat under her. Her nose was filled with the smell of fires and a metallic scent. From outside she could hear the pitter patter of rain and the sound of wind blowing against the trees outside her room.

She laid there contently, enjoying the moment of peace. Yet her need to go to the restroom was greater than her moment of peace. She let go of Kurama and turned over, to be met with the sight of a black and red Komon neatly folded. She shimmied out of the comfy bed and slipped of the simple robe.

Once done in the bathroom she returned to her own room, another set of clothes lay neatly next to her sleeping mat. This set was mostly salmon colored with a trail of green going around most of the robe. It looked like an odd kimono with slits on the sides for easy leg movement and extremely large sleeves. The sleeves were both large in the length and how open they were at the end, almost to her knees when she held one sleeve out. The skirt was knee length in the front and had a trailing back that was at least twice her height. A purple sash, that matched the soft fabric of the inside of the robes, lay on top with the rope Kagura kept for Kurama.

With the fox's help, Kagura got the new robe on with little difficulty. She even folded the tail a couple times and looped it under the purple sash. She then put the rope around Kurama's neck loosely. The rope had large loops and long ends that just barely stayed out of Kurama's way.

Ready for the day, Kagura walked to the room next to her own. Kurama insisted they look inside. Within was Sasori sitting with his back against the wall the door was on. He looked out the window listlessly.

"Are you ready for the day?" Kagura asked quietly. She could hear Sasori's joints crack and move into place as he turned his head towards her. "There's a lot more rooms…" she mumbled to the stiff puppet.

Said puppet master slowly got up from the hard floor and followed Kagura into the main room. Within was a sleeping Itachi in the corner and a man with orange hair and many black piercings lying next to the still burning hearth.

"Pein-Sama?" The living puppet asked from beside Kagura.

The noise startled both men in the room. Someone silently entered from the other side of the room, but didn't go unnoticed with the scent of the package in her arms. The all five in the room gathered around the fire and eat. The orange haired man sat across from Konan, Sasori sat on the same side as Kagura, and Itachi sat across from the duo.

As the meal was coming to a close, Kagura asked, "can we finish the scroll and decorating today?" With a confirmation all around Kagura pulled out the scroll.

The first five seals of the day contained small scrolls, each with a different technique. The first four each had a different offensive elemental technique while the last was entirely defensive and healing. They were arranged on a set of low shelves against the back wall, an entrance on either side to the back.

The next had a low desk, indoor benches and pillows. The first and third items were put into the fire room on the right in back. It made a good start on a study room. The benches were put within the main room for the moment.

After that was more tapestries, these of battles fought with the monsters of previous tapestries. These were set aside for a later time.

Next came a slew of seeds and medicinal plants that still seemed fresh. Lots and soil came from the next two of seals. These were set within all the completed rooms and the longer box pots were set along the exposed hallways. The room with the most plants was the new study.

Next was more kitchen supplies than Kagura could even imagine. Konan took delight in organizing the kitchen to the astonishment of her comrades. She seemed to dance around the room as she placed different pots, pans, and other various kitchen supplies away.

After the fascinating scene in the kitchen, Konan took Kagura, Itachi, and Sasori shopping. They went to various clothing stores until Konan and Sasori could agree on what looked best on their poor vict- Charge. After the traumatizing clothes shopping they finally went to get food. Konan insisted on getting enough to feed an army as they shopped.

Once the returned to Kagura's compound she found out why. Tobi was back with a tall shark man, the white haired man from the day before, and a man covered in stitches. Itachi's groan was just barely audible as the doors opened.

Lunch could be summed up in one word; chaotic. There was lots of noise, _(that scared Kagura)_ and plenty of small fights. There was even one point where someone was thrown through a _(thankfully)_ open door. The food was delicious though. Konan and Kagura had a fun time making it together.

After lunch things settled down enough for Pein to announce a few things, "as you may have noticed, we now have a child among us. Tobi brought her in and we _will_ be taking care of her. She was a borderline civilian with bad caregivers." He then motioned toward Kagura, "if you would introduce yourself?"

At this Kagura nervously stood up with some help from Sasori. "My name is Kageyoshi Kagura. I like natural water, Kurama, snakes, night time, pretty things, and my Pen-Palls" she said quietly, but all the ninja could hear it more than well enough.

"Anything you don't like?" The man with stitches asked.

Kagura thought for a moment before replying just as quietly, "cloudy nights, my aunt n' uncle, rats, an' being alone…"

With that she sat back down and curled up with Kurama in her arms. The rest of the room stared for a moment before asking a couple questions at a time. It was well into the night when Kagura went to bed.

The next day the house was finished and Kagura got the chance to write letters to her Pen-Palls. A pair of messenger birds soon found their way into Kagura's care.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

The next two years passed by, and it was an enjoyable life for Kagura. The Akatsuki soon found Kagura was something they all needed in their life. From Pein who was so intent on bringing peace that he forgot to include people to _enjoy_ the peace to Itachi who honestly _needed_ a sibling in his life. The Akatsuki soon found itself moving towards acting the part of a common enemy than being a genocidal organization.

Tobi was changed the most out of the Akatsuki. At leas his _real_ self was.

Apparently he was being possessed at least partly by another's spirit. So when Kagura learned the Kagura dance for a festival in the town and wore the clothes from the scroll? It was a very painful moment for the spirit… because of how long and deep Tobi's original personality was suppressed they guessed that was what made him so childish before and after the dance.

Who knew?

Each of the Akatsuki took to teaching Kagura what they knew. Kisame helped Kagura with chakra control and anything to do with water. He especially liked teaching Kagura water Jutsu when he learned of her strong affinity for the element.

Hidan was in charge of teaching Kagura about the anatomy. He was a surprisingly good teacher as long as his god wasn't brought into the conversation. ( _At least they knew Hidan wouldn't hurt "Jashin's" grandniece…_ ) His favorite lessons to teach were what happens and how it happens with injuries.

Kakuzu did his best to avoid Kagura, but he was still stuck with teaching her math and how to stitch a person back up.

Konan stuck to more household things like Origami and cooking. She would normally cook in the mornings on her own and make dinner with Kagura.

Tobi couldn't teach to save his life. So to make up for it, he did his best to take Kagura to new places where she could see new things. To see their world.

Along with changes in her new _family_ Kagura had gotten closer to her Pen-Pals. Deidara had been sending her little Fireworks every now and then while Kagura did the same. He even sent notes on new ways to blow things up while Kagura either fixed it or improved them. Gaara seemed more open about his personal life as opposed to always talking about things in nature they both enjoyed. While Naruto liked to talk about his every prank. Kagura liked to help by sending supplies or new ideas.

She had gotten much closer to Kurama as well. The fox grew rapidly in the first year and ended up large enough for Kagura to ride _(and she did quite frequently),_ after that Kurama seemed to grow at about the same pace as Kagura. He always stayed large enough to be ridden by Kagura.

Yet like always, her life met bumps in it path, some large some small. The larger bumps almost always happened to her friends. Like the day Deidara fled from his village. A set of mouths appeared on his hands and on his chest not long before _it_ happened.

" _Kagura_

 _I'm not sure if I'll ever get to send you another letter again so let me get a few things off my chest. You're the first and only friend I've ever had. Others in my village are too scare of my pyrotechnics to even be friendly. So I'm glad I got to talk to you._

 _Really sappy huh? Oh well… I'm leaving my village in shambles. I may or may not get out of this alive, so… please remember me?_

 _Deidara_

The letter honestly terrified Kagura. It was far too sincere for Deidara. He always lived in the moment, not plan something out so far ahead! He _**never**_ thought about things like if he was going to die or not…

"Oyaji!" She called out while running through her compound. The letter was in her hand while she ran, Kurama at her heels. Not finding the carrot haired version, she got on Kurama and had him take her to where His real body was.

Once within the room she ran up to him while saying, "Oyaji! I really need to find my friend!" She then held up the letter for him to read.

Once the letter was read Pein sent a message to Hidan to rondevu with Kagura at the boarder of Stone. With that Kagura took off on Kurama's back.

His speed was unmatched when he had Kagura on his back. Nobody could honestly explain the connection those two had. Some had tried when comparing them to the Inuzuka clan, but it was a deeper tie. Normally one would expect a Nine Tailed fox to not like a person much less let them be a mount. But Kagura and Kurama made it more than work. They made up the perfect team.

It didn't take them long to get to the boarder, and it took only an hour for Hidan to arrive. They then took off for the stone village. Kurama had to slow down so Sasori could keep up. It took several hours for them to the Stone Village and by then Deidara was already making art.

Explosions of vibrant colors went off throughout the village and it rung through the air. Colorful smoke wafted off the town as a large clay bird took off from the rubble. It slowly rose in the air, somebody on its back. That's when Kagura rushed in, already knowing who the bird belonged to.

Kurama practically flew as he ran. He jumped along the flaming rooftops and _leapt_ onto the wing of the bird. It tilted right until Kurama scrambled into the bird's body. Before Deidara got the chance to retaliate, Kagura scrambled up to Kurama's head and said in the most cheerful voice possible, "Hey Deidara! It's nice to finally meet you!"

His wide eyes were _priceless._ Widened eyes with a dilated pupil, along with an open mouth! Kagura was only barely able to hold back her laughter. Kurama was a lost cause though, Kagura could feel him shaking from laughter.

When Kurama calmed down, Kagura said, "I came to get you… you're letter was rather frightening…"

"Kagura?" He asked quietly. His face had yet to recover from its astonishment.

Kagura grinned and replied, "who else? I couldn't let you kill yourselves after all."

She then slipped back to her place on Kurama's back where his fur was longest. With her red and black clothes she blended into Kurama's fur. Kurama picked up Deidara in its jaws and hopped off the claw bird. As they fell Kurama let go of Deidara. Seeing Deidara above Kurama's head she grabbed him and pulled Deidara to Kurama's back. They landed with a crater from the impact.

Kagura waved at Hidan as they left the village.

It hardly took long for Kurama to run home. Back at her home, Kagura got Deidara settled into her home quickly. He stayed in the fire themed Oni room. The tapestries seemed to be resistant to all his explosives to the relief of all those who visited the compound.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

A couple weeks after the " _Stone Village Incident"_ , there was a meeting of all the Akatsuki. They sat in the main room, each dreading what they would be talking about.

Pein sat next to the hearth, his face void of any expression. "We all know why we're here?" He asked monotonously. A wave of nodding heads filled the room. "So where should Kagura and Deidara learn the Ninja arts officially?"

"Not Suna," Sasori replied immediately.

"Not Stone," Deidara piped in from next to Kagura, "They'll kill me for all my art, un!"

"Cloud refuses to let her back after the Drums Incident," Itachi said from his corner. "Has to have water," Kisame said, "she's still mastering water Jutsu."

Looking between her caregivers, Kagura asked, "what about Leaf?" The whole room stared at her, prompting her thinking. "The lead village is near here, doesn't mind rain," here a shiver went through those present for the Drum Incident, "Itachi can visit his brother, S-class missing nin rarely visit, and I think Naruto might be there!" Everyone present knew how much Kagura's pen-pals meant to her.

Pein looked around before asking, "any objections?" When nobody spoke up, Pein said, "then the decision is final; we will send Kagura and Deidara to Konohagakure."

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

That night Kagura packed all the things in her room away. Deidara did the same while the rest of her _family_ packed away the compound. Only the inside of main hall remained. The things all got packed up into the scroll they came from.

They even got out a set of Kagura's Clan garments out for Deidara. It was a mix of the feminine and masculine versions of the Halberdier set. He wore the black skin tight shirt and pants just looser. Over that he wore a red Mandarin Collar Coat that had loose sleeves folded up to above his elbows, cropped at the mid stomach and had the clan symbol on the back. It even had tassels for buttons. The clan symbol covering the upper back. Over his pants he wore the woman's skirt rather than the masculine one. He found it _far_ mor artistic with its length and whirlpool like white swirls. It had a black sash with a golden tasseled trim and a tight blue waistband tied together with white cloth kept it all in place.

His clay pouch was strung on the white strip of fabric for easy access. He kept Kunai in his coat and Senbon in his black sash.

Kagura stuck to the Battle Fan set. She kept her drum hooked onto her bow for emergencies _(the drum sticks hidden in pockets in her large bow)_ , her fan at her waist, and she kept some of her explosive beads on a pair of bracelets and anklets for easy access. Each bead had different prayers carved onto them, just like in her clan's scrolls. As a final touch, Kagura had Senbon in her waist sash.

Just above Kagura's bow was the clan scroll.

With both of them clothed and ready, Kagura and Deidara got on Kurama's back. Itachi took the lead and guided the trio to Konaha. About ten meters away, Itachi pointed at the Village then left. They rode Kurama through the forest until they could see the gates from a road.

With the village in sight, the two got off Kurama's back. They walked along the long dirt path. Kagura played around by walking in the groves left by carriages with Kurama walking just behind her.

Deidara on the other hand was practicing with his new Halberd. His lack of short range techniques was _**always**_ pointed out by nearly everyone in the Akatsuki. Even Sasori, a **PUPPET MASTER** , had short range attacks! While he'd prefer something a bit more artistic, he decided to at least give it a try.

At the gates, the two children were treated with a mix of surprise and confusion. Confusion from how there was no adult in sight, and surprised from the giant fox with _nine tails_ doing what the little red haired girl told it to.

"Hello!" Kagura called out innocently from Kurama's back. He foot bled onto Kurama's fur, "Do you have any medics near by? There was a Kunai in the dirt…"

Both ninja looked at the girl with widened eyes. _'How can such a tiny girl ignore a cut like that?'_ they seemed to wonder until Deidara whacked the shaft of his Halberd on their desk.

"Get Kagura-sama a Medic," he nearly growled. With the shock the two were sent into action. One called a medical Kunoichi while the other ran to get the Hokage.

A couple minutes later, Kagura's foot was wrapped up and Kagura was sitting in the Hokage's office with Kurama to her left and Deidara to her right.

He was just staring. The Hokage knew it could be rude, but he couldn't help it. This little girl looked _so_ _much_ like Kushina. Blue eyed sure, but the red hair was _unmistakable_.

"Hello? Anybody in there?" Her blond companion asked.

The girl on the other hand was inching closer to the giant fox at her side. A distrustful look graced her eyes, and they seemed to be filling with a blood red.

So he decided to clear his throat and ask, "where are your guardians?"

The blond glared, "don't got any. We don't need anyone to watch us."

"Deidara," the red haired girl hissed, "be polite, we _want_ to stay here remember?"

"You _want_ to stay here?" The Hokage asked.

This time the girl grinned, her eyes became a clear blue color, "yeah! Someone I know lives here! He said it was a beautiful village with plenty of water and trees!"

Suddenly a boy with blond hair, blue eyes and Whiskers on his cheeks. The red haired child immediately perked up. _'Does she know him?'_ the Hokage wondered.

"Hey Old Man!" The blond called out.

The blond haired boy next to the read head leaned over and whispered, "isn't that?"

And before anything else could be said she kept from the chair and landed in front of Naruto. Her smile was massive and her eyes shone an little.

/\\\/\\\/\\\/\\\/\

"It's nice to finally meet you Na~Ru~To!" Kagura said, singing the name. "The whiskers really do look sharp!"

Naruto for his part looked startled. "Wh-who are you?" He stepped back as he spoke.

Kagura looked put off, "you don't remember me?" She shifted her weight to one foot and sighed. " well we haven't met face to face yet," she then held a hand up, pointing at the green mark on her face. "It's ME Kageyoshi Kagura! We're pen-pals remember?"

" **KAGURA?"** Naruto yelled out in surprise. His eyes comically wide. All four occupants of the room flinched from the shear volume. Kurama whimpered a little once the echoing in the room stopped.

Before anything else could be said, Kagura covered Naruto's mouth with her hand. "Please don't scream! It really hurts!" She hissed. "Lets chat later, I was having a meeting with your Kage." With that, Kagura let go of Naruto.

Naruto: "The old man? What do you need to talk to the old man about?"

Kagura: "I'm planning on staying here. I need to talk to him about getting a Clan Compound somewhere."

Naruto: "Oh oh! There's one by the forest that _nobody_ goes near!"

Kagura: "Near a forest? That sounds really cool! How big is it?"

Naruto: "its HUGE! And there's so many rooms too! There was even one room with a **GIANT** tiger sleeping in it!"

Kagura turned around, a broad smile on her face as she asked, "can I claim the property for my Clan, Lord Hokage?"

The Hokage had his eyes wide open as he asked, "yo-you want to stay here? As a-a Clan?"

"Isn't hat what Kagura just said?" Deidara growled back. The small room making him itch to set something alight.

"And you two are both of this Clan?" The Hokage asked.

"Yeah," Deidara replied.

"Of course," Kagura said, her hands wrapped around Naruto's left hand. "Can I take Naruto into my clan too? Any Kageyoshi by blood can adopt another into the clan! Just not make it proper."

A smirk appeared on the Hokage's face. "You want to adopt Naruto? He's a real trickster," the Hokage warned.

"Naruto is my friend! If I don't adopt him, he will still stay in my Compound!"

"I'll have your official papers done within the week. Until then, you will have ANBU monitoring you. You can start classes tomorrow. I will need information on how trained you are already."

"I'll go first," Deidara replied haughtily, "I have a Kekkei Genkai that lets me make _beautiful_ explosives. Kagura won't let me go anywhere without several Kunai. I'm trying to find a weapon to give me some short range action." The Hokage wrote down every word before looking up at Kagura.

"Me next?" Kagura asked, "I specialize in mid range combat and large amounts of damage. I use mainly wind based techniques since my fire and lightning affinities are extremely lethal, and I am well versed in Water Jutsu. I use my Battle fan for most kinds of combat and Senbon needles for disabling my opponents. I use my Drum only for emergencies." A warning any Shinobi could pick up on was portrayed in her final sentence. The Madal drum at her waist all the more menacing. _'Too had it isn't nearly as dangerous unless it's at full size,'_ Both Kagura and Deidara though.

"Now if you're ready, have Naruto take you to the compound. The ANBU will help clean the Compound out," the Hokage said; with a wave of his hand two masked people appeared. One had a cat shaped mask and long purple hair while the other had a bird mask and spiky dirty blond hair. Both bowed to the Hokage before jumping out an open window.

With the help of Naruto, the duo _(plus one giant fox)_ got to the clan compound rather quickly.


	2. Rewrite

I can't believe so many people like this story so much...

Rereading it I blushed so hard in embarrassment from how it turned out and how rushed the poor story is...

So I'm gonna rewrite it with a different spin...

"Reclaiming Lost Blood"

A tale of how a child of Shinobi heritage on her mother's side tries to find out who she really is,

I'll probably incorporate the Penpals, but not have it so important and change one or two of them to something more realistic. Penpals with _Two_ Jinchuriki? I don't think their Kage would allow that at all!

Hmmm... and have her older when she leaves England, probably after Fourth or Fifth year. I really didn't like 6 and 7 honestly XD

I'm still doing strong ties to Oreshika since I absolutely adored that game~ and I find quite a few Uzumaki traits can be seen in the Player's clan too~

Like one character was able to revive the entire clan by doing a ritual to light their souls, and heal them by having each one bite her! She would have died if she were a mortal, but you deal with A LOT of immortals and gods in that game XD

If any of my lovely readers want to see anything in particular happen in rewrite I'm all ears~


End file.
